BOSTON – Cardinals second baseman Tony Womack was forced out of Game 1 with a left collarbone injury in the seventh inning last night, the result of a wicked David Ortiz grounder.

“The X-rays came back negative,” Womack said after the Cardinals’ 11-9 loss to the Red Sox. “I lost feeling in my arm there for a while. Now I have my feeling back. There is a little pain but I have played in pain before. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Marlon Anderson replaced Womack and gave the Cardinals life in the ninth when he doubled with one out off Keith Foulke. But he was stranded on second.

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Back in New York, Derek Jeter said yesterday The Curse of the Bambino isn’t over until the Red Sox win the World Series.

“They’ve got to win,” Jeter said in a published report. “They’ve been in the World Series before. But they have to win.”

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The four Red Sox errors were the most in a World Series game since the Brewers committed four in 1982. It’s the most errors by the Bosox in a World Series game since 1946.

The combined 20 runs was the highest scoring Game 1 in World Series history. The previous high was a 12-6 win over the Cubs in 1932.

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Chris Carpenter was hoping he could be an ace in the hole for the World Series. It won’t happen.

Carpenter, the Cardinals’ right-handed starter who has been sidelined since Sept. 18 with nerve damage in his right bicep, was wondering if he might be on the World Series roster after throwing two sides and feeling strong. But when the Cards announced their 25-man team yesterday, Carpenter wasn’t on it.

Carpenter went 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA during the year, and although he did not believe he would have been able to start in this series, a relief role was possible.

Speaking of relief, the Cards also dropped lefty Steve Kline from the roster in favor of righty Al Reyes. Kline had been out since Oct. 3 with a torn tendon in his left index finger. The move means the Cardinals now only have one lefty on their roster (starter or reliever) in Ray King.

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Don’t be surprised if the Cardinals’ DH for one of their games at Fenway is none other than Roger Cedeno.

“I’ll be ready for anything,” said the ex-Met outfielder, who delivered a pinch-hit single last night.

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Now that Ortiz will have to play first base in Games 3-5, backup first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz isn’t sure if he’ll be playing at all. Typically, the defensive standout has been coming in for first baseman Kevin Millar in the late innings.

“Maybe now it’s David plays the first six, Kevin plays the seventh and I play the eighth,” Mientkiewicz joked.

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Sox legend Johnny Pesky on how he celebrated Boston’s ALCS victory over the Yankees: “I was at home. I had a hot fudge sundae. But I was happy for our people.”